The Way
by Phoenixflame
Summary: Written before I saw the Buffy 5th season finale. After all the battles are finished, Buffy and Angel await the next day...


Title: The Way  
Author: Phoenixflame  
Rating: PG  
Spoilers: Possible spoilers up until the end of fifth season. Mostly conjecture.  
Summary: My view of the end of fifth season. Kind of wierd, kind of introspective. Written before I saw The Gift.  
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters in this fic, and the song is by Fastball, not me.  
  
  
They made up their minds, and they started packing.  
They left before the sun came up that day.  
An exit to eternal summer slacking.  
But where were they going without ever knowing the way?  
  
  
It was hours before morning. The town of Sunnydale slept, unaware of the events that had transpired. A god had been defeated, and reality had skipped a beat. Time had resumed its flow, shucking vampires and demons into mortal lives, with no recollection of life as it had been. Good demons returned to their homes in other dimensions, rejoining their clans and tribes, resuming traditions long set aside. Memories faded with the end of an age.  
  
Buffy sat in her living room on the couch, sipping a cup of mocha and waiting for the sun to come up. Her memories had yet to fuzz, but she knew that soon they would. Dawn had promised.  
  
Sighing softly, she set the mocha down on the endtable, making sure to put it down on the saucer so she didn't damage the wood. Old habits died hard.  
  
Dawn had yet to come... but her Dawn had already left. Her sister, gone back to the Powers, reshaping reality. The old battle had been won. Mankind had triumphed, and the Slayer had been the weapon of the Powers.   
  
But the Chosen One would withdraw as well, becoming a relic of the lost age. Buffy sighed. Time... She had so little time.  
  
A knock on the door startled her, and she rose from her seat, moving to the door, wondering who it was. Her friends had disappeared from the site of the final battle, and Dawn had promised that they would awaken to remember nothing.   
  
Opening the door, she blinked in surprise. "Angel?"  
  
"I drove up her as fast as I could." He held up a bottle. "I brought some wine. I figured we could watch the sunrise together."  
  
She smiled and stepped aside to let him in.  
  
  
They drank up the wine, and they got to talking.  
They now had more important things to say,  
  
  
"I didn't think you'd come." she told him as she poured the wine into two wineglasses. "I mean, what about Cordelia and Wesley."  
  
"Cordelia's gone. Wesley..."  
  
"What?" She stared at him. "How?" She picked up the wineglass and stared at the wine.  
  
"They asked Cordelia to come with them. She was touched too much by their power to stay here. Wesley and Kate were allowed to go with them. As payment for service well rendered."  
  
Buffy smiled. "Dawn will be glad to see Cordy." She looked up at him. "I'll bet they're turning the shopping malls of heaven upside down by now.  
  
He laughed. It sounded light and natural, and totally alien to her. She handed him the wineglass, and they headed for the porch. "I'm glad. Cordelia only became what she is because of the battles..."  
  
"And the war." He sat down in the porch swing, and she sat beside him, curling her legs up under herself. "The final battle... I can't believe it's over. She looked at him, face sober. "We're going to forget, aren't we?"  
  
Angel nodded, face just as grim. "They promised me mortality... But I don't know what I'll do with it. Spike... Did they tell you? They made him mortal and a biker."  
  
She laughed. "It's the perfect life for him." She grinned at the thought.  
  
Both were quiet for a while, finishing their wine. Finally, Angel stood up. "Come on, let's take a drive."  
  
Running a finger around the edge of her wineglass, she thought it over, then nodded and set the glass aside. He extended his hand, and she took it, letting herself be led out of the house.  
  
They drove out of Sunnydale, up the road towards the mansion and the hill that overlooked town. About halfway there, the car coughed and sputtered to a stop.  
  
"I forgot to get gas." he said.  
  
They looked at each other, then got out of the car.  
  
  
And when the car broke down they started walking.  
Where were they going without ever knowing the way?  
  
  
It was cool without being too cold as they walked side by side up the hill, through the dew-laden grass. As they neared the top, Buffy could see light on the horizon, and she sighed with regret. "I wish..."  
  
"What?" She turned her head to look at him. He was all sharp outlines in the darkness, except for his eyes.  
  
"I know it caused pain, but I wish we could remember. I don't think..." She shook her head. "I can't live like this. I've lost so many years fighting here..."  
  
He hugged her. "I know what you mean." he told her. "I... I don't want to go back home now. The fight was as much a part of me as it was you and Cordelia. I don't want to stay here when the world changes. I don't want to lose myself. I want to see my friends again."  
  
"You only had to ask."  
  
Turning, they saw them waiting. Dawn, and Cordelia, Kate and Wesley. Behind them was Doyle, with a tall pale woman that Buffy realized was Darla in mortal form.  
  
"Come on." Dawn held out her hand. "What are you waiting for?"  
  
With her own hand, Buffy reached out, and took her sisters hand. And as the sun came up over Sunnydale, washing the shadows away, they were swallowed by the bright golden glow.  
  
  
Anyone can see the road that they walk on,  
Is paved in gold.  
And it's always summer, they'll never get cold,  
They'll never get hungry,  
They'll never get old and grey.  
You can see their shadows wandering off somewhere,  
They won't make it home but they really don't care.  
They wanted the highway,  
They're happier there today.  
Today...  
  
  
One by one, they got up, and wandered over to the Summers place. They wandered through the empty house, wondering at the bottle of wine, the empty goblets, and the cooling cup of mocha that sat on an endtable. They stared in confusion at pictures they'd never seen, wondering at the room of a teenager, at the memories of a girl that blurred more and more.  
  
"I don't understand." said Willow. "Who was she? I can seem to remember, almost. It's like our memories..."  
  
"I miss her and I don't know why." Tara murmured. "Why can't I remember?"  
  
"She was a friend. A good friend." Xander stared at the cup of mocha. "But she's gone now."  
  
Outside of the house, a horn honked. Jesse yelled "Yo! We got breakfast, folks."  
  
"Let's come back later." said Willow. And together, they left the house.  
  
As they drove away, the house faded, the contents rippling into nothingness, taking the house with them. And their memories blurred, until it became a pleasant summer days dream, a fantasy that they couldn't touch, forever in their dreams.  
  
  
The children woke up and they couldn't find 'em.  
They'd left before the sun came up that day.  
They just drove off and left it all behind 'em.  
Where were they going without ever knowing the way?  
  
  
And in the realm of the Powers That Be, the Powers That Are, time moved on, and the battle moved to other worlds. And where it went, the Slayer and her Prince went, moving on, fighting the good fight and watching over their friends. They had become willing servants, rejoicing in service well rendered, in the life that was never simple.  
  
They were warriors, and they were free.  
  
  
Anyone can see the road that they walk on,  
Is paved in gold.  
And it's always summer, they'll never get cold,  
They'll never get hungry,  
They'll never get old and grey.  
You can see their shadows wandering off somewhere,  
They won't make it home but they really don't care.  
They wanted the highway,  
They're happier there today.  
Today...  
  
  
  
THE BEGINNING? 


End file.
